pretty cool find

[john455]

I was up at my house in Greeneville yesterday cleaning out and packing up some of Dads stuff for when we move up there, and found a small lock box hidden in the back of his gun closet. Well got it home, and finally got it open, and found 106 pre 1960 silver quarters in it and 27 per 1950's silver dollars. I didn't even know dad collected silver coins. I swear I learn something new about my Dad every time I go over there.

[runco]

That is awesome.  I have a small similar collection that my dad passed to me years ago.  My wife doesn't understand, she says cash them in.  I have repeatedly said no.  Unless the kids are starving.

[Grand Torino]

Cool find. :up:  It's always interesting to find little treasures like that.

[Dirtshooter]

On a similar note, about a year after my father passed away my mom was going thru his closet sorting clothes to give away and in a jacket pocket found 3-100 dollar bills. The neat thing it was within a day or so of her birthday. You know we should all tell someone where our hiding spots are so no "loot" is left unfound!

[JWC]

I'm still expecting to find money somewhere in my house that my dad squirreled away.

[VERO1]

I have told my wife and kids for years, "When I die, you don't need to look for any hidden treasures, you already used them up!"

[jhc77]

When my sister got the safe deposit box of my dad's after he passed it was stuffed with silver coins and early mint sets. Mom didn't know about them either.

[Jonnin]

most of the old silver is heavily worn and not worth much more than its weight in the metals.  But a few are worth an awful lot of money -- fewer minted, and many of the old coins were melted down over the decades...     and ANY of them in amazing condition (for quarters, for example, you can see the details like feathers in the eagle's chest or the detail lines in his wig) are potentially worth a significant amount.   If you find some from a "collector" they will be better examples in better shape and worth more.  If you find a typical stash from non collectors, they will be typically worn to a nub, the date and general outlines all that remain because silver is too soft to make lasting coins.

[gregintenn]

I love the sound, look, and feel of silver coins. I wish we still used them.

Edited April 7, 2015 by gregintenn

[Caster]

Thanks Pops!!!!!!

[raildog]

If your dad was like my grandfather keep looking you will find more stuff that will blow your mind. I still find stuff he hid in the woods and around barns on the farm.

[hipower]

Yes, it's always great to find something that ties us to family, especially when it comes as a surprise to us.

 

Sort of the reverse here, if I may relate a little story from the dark ages of my childhood.

 

When my mother took me to Citizens Bank in Cookeville, Tn to open my first savings account; she cleaned out my piggy bank(remember those guys?) and my rocket bank (which I still have in working condition. Yay!). I tried to stop her.

 

For years, my Grandad had given me Silver Dollars for birthday, Christmas or just any occasion.

 

Mom cleaned them all out of my banks and marched me into the bank to see Mr. Presley, a teller and family friend, telling him I wanted to open an account.

 

You could see the gleam in his eyes as Mom filled out the form and handed over 117 coins. All dated pre 1887.

 

I don't know how he kept from jumping up and down in his seat.

 

He told me once when I was about 18 that those coins never saw the teller's cash drawer. He put them in a bag and deposited his own cash to that account.

 

Aside from the sentimental value, those sure would be worth a bit more these days.

[No_0ne]

In the early 60's, the spot price for silver was nearing the point where the silver in US coins was soon going to be worth more than the face value of the coin.  This tends to drive the coins out of circulation, the end result was the switch after 1965 to the use of base metals in coins.  During that time, many people quickly put away vast amounts of the older silver coins then in circulation, I read once where basically all of them were out of general circulation within 2 years of the changeover.  It's quite possible that your dad's stash is leftover from that time frame ...

[john455]

Years ago Dad turned me onto silver scraping, I use to go to the Flea Market with him and walk around hunting junk silver to recycle, and after I got married and on my own I kept doing it as a money making hobby. It's a lot harder to find deals nowadays because anyone can just look up silver prices on the web. but I still do it mostly at yard sales and a few small auctions. It's helped pad my wife's and my retirement funds and is the main reason her job moving to Ohio isn't a disaster for us. It's just cool to find out Dad kept some of the silver he scrounged (like myself).